ASEAN-인도 자유무역지대 추진현황과 전망

Abstract

Abstract ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement : Opportunities and Challenges Yul Kwon (Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, KIEP) In 1992, Prime Minister Rao of India announced his "Look East Policy" that sparked economic cooperation with South East Asian counties as well as ASEAN. As trade and investment in the region expanded, the economic relationship between ASEAN and India developed rapidly. As a result, an agreement of comprehensive economiccooperation was signed at the ASEAN-India Summit Meeting in Bali in October 2003, and India's policy is to build up its economic relationship with ASEAN. Besides, India expressed interest in moving ahead with the idea of building an East Asia Economic Community at the Summit Meeting, Kuala Lumpur, in December 2005. Considering substantial cooperative relations and economic mutual dependence among the Asian countries, it is likely that economic cooperation between South Asia and ASEAN will develop continuously throughout the East Asia Summit Meeting. Nevertheless, a significant period of time will need to pass before an FTA between ASEAN and India could substantially take effect, and there is unlikely to be rapid progress in the short run due to many obstacles. However, the integration of India and ASEAN as South-South cooperation will comprise a huge free trade area in terms of the market with 1.6 billion people, and $1.5 trillion in GDP. It shouldbe a key viewpoint in India's FTA policy of how India's government makes good use of the ASEAN-India FTA opportunity. India will become a country of opportunity and challenge for each ASEAN member country. Finally, it is clear that India would get substantial economic effects from an ASEAN-India FTA in the long run. Key words：Economic Integration, Free Trade Agreement, South-South Cooperation